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Soothing techniques

There are many great ways to soothe a baby. However, sometimes one method works, while another does not, and this can depend on what time of day it is, what has upset your baby, who is doing the soothing, and even just your baby’s personal preference. Therefore, it will be beneficial to you to be versed in multiple styles. The most common types of soothing are known as “the five Ss of soothing.” These are: swaddle, sound, suction, swatting, and side or stomach positioning.

First, swaddling.There are two ways to swaddle: arms up and arms down. When swaddling with arms up, choose your swaddle blanket—whether it is a normal baby blanket or an actual blanket designed for swaddling—spread it out, and lay your baby in the center. Then tuck baby’s arms up close to the chin, with the arms either slightly over the chest or by the side (with hands still tucked up to chin), and bring one side of the blanket over and across your baby’s arms, tucking tightly underneath the body. Then bring the other side of the blanket over and across your baby, bringing it all the way around the back, and tuck down into the top of the blanket to secure. Make sure that you wrap at shoulder height so that your baby’s mouth can reach the fists. When you are finished swaddling, the tightest part of the swaddle should be around the middle, and the loosest part should be around the feet. This allows your baby to practice motor skills by moving and kicking feet without restriction and without breaking free of the swaddle. This technique is used for very young babies as it allows them to show hunger cues in the early stages, versus the last stage, which is crying.

When swaddling arms down, choose your blanket and lay it down on a flat surface so that it is angled in the shape of a diamond. Then take one of the corners and fold it down about eight inches toward the center. Next lay your baby onto the blanket, so that shoulders line up with the flat edge you have just created. Put your baby’s left arm straight down next to baby’s side. Bring that side of the blanket over and across your baby’s abdomen and arm, and tuck it in tightly under the back. Next, place your baby’s right arm down by the side. Bring the remaining corner of the blanket over and across your baby’s abdomen and arm, and then wrap around the back and tuck into the top of the blanket to secure.

Remember that, while swaddling is a great tool to use to soothe your baby, it should not be used during the daytime. This is because swaddling suppresses your baby’s cues and movements. Instead, only use it to help suppress involuntary movements during the night so that your baby can rest without being woken by natural reflexes and involuntary movements. See below for the step-by-step process for swaddling.

Sound means multiple things. It can mean holding your baby to your chest and humming lightly, and it can also mean making soft “sh” noises. Depending on your home (if it’s a louder environment with other kids), it can mean placing a sound machine in your baby’s room at night. This sound helps drown out other voices and noises in your home that may make it more difficult for your baby to fall and stay asleep. It can also help to serve as a constant for your baby throughout all the sleep cycles. If you opt for this, the sound must remain constant, so don’t set a timer so that the sound machine turns off after a certain number of minutes, otherwise this will disrupt your baby’s sleep cycles. The sound must remain constant all night long and be a genuine white noise. Additionally, the sound machine can’t have a nightlight, as any light (except red) will disrupt the baby’s circadian rhythm.

Suction, on the other hand, usually means to give your baby a pacifier. This can be an extremely effective soothing tool, although you must gently take the pacifier away once baby is soothed. If you don’t, your baby will continue to suck on the pacifier, because babies have sucking reflexes that are triggered when something is in their mouths, and this will in turn suppress hunger cues. This can encourage a longer than ideal stretch between feeds, which is problematic and potentially dangerous for proper weight gain. In addition your baby could become extremely attached to the pacifier, making it difficult to wean from it later. Use it as a tool and, like any one of these tools, use it only as needed.

Then there is swatting. This is basically patting your baby lightly on the bum, belly, or back, sometimes accompanied by a sort of rocking motion. This works well if your baby wakes and needs to be soothed, as it calms without lifting your baby in your arms.

Last, there are side- or stomach-laying positions. Laying your baby down on side or stomach relieves the moro reflux. This is also a comfortable position for your baby. Note however, that after soothing, you must turn your baby onto the back. You can’t leave babies on their sides because they may roll over onto their stomachs, and if they aren’t capable of barrel rolling when they do this, you have to roll them back yourself.

You can also use side soothing in your arms or stomach soothing on your chest as you lay back. For a reflux baby, this can be helpful with the pain, and for all babies, mama’s or papa’s chest is a great place to rest.

Besides the five Ss, there are a few other ways to soothe and calm your baby. You can place a hand on your baby’s stomach and adding slight pressure. Then slowly pull your hand away, hovering about half an inch away from your baby’s stomach before pulling away completely. Don’t make any sudden movements, as this can startle your baby, and then you will then have to resoothe.

You can also try resetting your baby’s nervous system (see the nervous system section for instructions on how to do this). Lastly, be aware of the proper way to lay your baby down, so as not to trigger the moro reflex. This is an infantile reflex normally present in newborns for up to three to five months after birth. “It is a response to a sudden loss of support or loud sound, which then makes the infant become extremely startled and/or feel as if they are falling” (psychology.about.com). This will wake the baby and cause the need for further soothing.

Keep your baby close to you and move your body with your baby’s. Lay baby down, hover for a moment, and then pull away. Do not simply use your arms to lay your baby down, or baby will feel as though falling and jerk awake. Use your entire body to lay down your baby, and pull yourself away slowly.

You will often use a combination of these techniques and creates ones of your own. Each relationship created with a baby is different, and what works for Mom may not work for a partner, grandparents, caregiver, and so forth. When working through sleep transitions, you will use the soothing techniques you know work best first and slowly wean to the least invasive one—ideally, just a calming touch.

Nervous system

Babies’ nervous systems take up to three years to develop enough for them to be able to reset them on their own (Siegel and Bryson). Therefore, babies will need help to reset their systems for the first three years of their lives. Resetting your baby’s nervous system will be one of the most important parts of your job as a parent. This is because it is the system babies have the least control of, and the system that parents have the most control helping with.

You can really change your baby’s mood and demeanor by resetting the nervous system, which will, in turn, make both your and your baby’s lives easier. Bring your baby to your chest, put a hand flat on the head, and engage in deep breathing. It is important that you do not make any noise and don’t move; just remain calm and focus on the stillness and breathing of both you and your baby. This should reset your baby’s nervous system. Do this, at the very least, once a day.

Your baby’s nervous system needs to be reset multiple times through the day. This is because cortisol levels build up, and your baby will become overstimulated. Note however, that the system will eventually reset by accident or without you being aware that resetting has occurred. This usually happens when you are both crying at the same time while you hold your baby to your chest. Or it could happen while you are breastfeeding your baby. However, the more aware of it you are and the more often you do it, the more in control of the situation you will be, and the happier and more agreeable your baby will be.

Additionally, one of the reasons that the cried-out method doesn’t work and is, in fact, harmful for your baby is that—according to research—mothers and their babies are in sync with each other, and so your (i.e., Mom’s) presence is often calming. When you are gone and your baby is left to cry, both you and your baby’s cortisol levels (i.e., the hormone in the body that signals stress) increase. The difference between you and your baby, however, is that, while your nervous system will reset on its own, and your cortisol levels will decrease and regulate, your baby’s won’t (Middlemiss et al. 2011). Even though babies may stop crying, (because they’ve cried themselves out), their cortisol levels will remain high.

This is a problem because it results in mothers’ and babies’ systems to be out of sync with each other,and then mothers are not able to reset their babies’ nervous systems as easily. Also note that the “cried-out” method burns so many calories for the baby that it causes harm through loss of energy as well, and, again, creates negative associations.

Note that, by 2 years of age your baby is having a lot of feelings and emotions, they just are unable to differentiate between the vast majority of them, such as angry, sad or mad, which all feel as if they are one emotion for them, at this time.

What does it mean to help support a baby with sleep? Throughout the first few years of a baby’s life, there are developmental stages of sleep that play a big role in sleep support. These natural progressions of sleep can be supported by parents, caregivers or sleep specialists, if they are able to recognize and understand each progression. As long as a baby’s caloric needs are being met and they are being held to developmentally appropriate sleep expectations, providing sleep support for little ones is a safe process.

Before I describe the unique methods I’ve developed, I want to share a little bit of my background and experience that led me to these conclusions. I started my career as a night nanny in 2002, which is when I realized that I wanted to offer specialized support to families. I was taking nursing courses, and it was during this process that I discovered the undeniable, universal value of nutrition. I went on to earn my B.S. in Human Nutrition and Dietetics. In 2009 I founded my own night nanny agency and since then have been training other nannies on my sleep techniques. Throughout these last 14 years, I have combined and applied my knowledge of nutrition and sleep. Through that, I have helped hundreds of families get the sleep they need by using a gentle, nutrition based method.

Natural progression of sleep

Let’s talk about a baby’s natural progression with sleep. For the first few weeks a baby will sleep constantly and eat around the clock. By week three they typically wake up a bit more and show more interaction with their environment. At around 8-12 weeks a baby starts the journey of differentiating day and night. This is regulated by their circadian rhythms, which helps the brain distinguish day from night using light verses dark and melatonin, which in turn helps regulate the hormones of sleep (and is typically given to a baby throughout pregnancy and then through breast milk) (2). Between the ages of 12 weeks and 18 months the developmental changes in relation to sleeping will be minimal. However, during this time period, a baby will change how they split up their total time of sleep in a 24-hour period. Sleep cycles are usually around 45-60 minutes, which is why naps in the first six months are typically very short, usually 20-60 minutes long. After six months, the naps begin consolidating creating 60-90minutes stints and there will be less throughout the day. This will happen again around 1 year dropping down to 2 naps a day and around 18 months down to 1 nap a day. The total nap time will not change much still around 3 hours.

How growth spurts affect caloric needs

Now let’s consider the growth spurts of babies both calorically and developmentally. In the first month of life, calories change quickly due to rapid growth, followed by continuous growth spurts throughout the first year. Each one of these growth spurts will affect a baby during this period, yet they only last five to seven days. The growth spurt with the most impact is between four and six months. This growth spurt typically creates an increased need of 150 calories a day. Since the baby is still not eating solids, it means the mother must be able to produce an increase in breast milk from 24 ounces to 28-32 ounces. This is followed by another 150-300 increase in needed calories a day when another growth spurt occurs between nine to twelve months but will be supported with calories from solids foods and not just milk. During these times, it helps to remind parents that during growth spurts, the baby will have more frequent feeds in order to increase the amount of breast milk being supplied. Also during growth spurts the baby may need night feeds to help with the increase in caloric needs. With that said, it is only the duration of five to seven nights that night feeds would be needed and then longer stretches of sleep will resume again as long as this is encouraged by the parents. As the growth spurt comes to an end, it should be easy to phase out the night feeds and soothe them back to sleep, rather than feeding them.

Expectations

Now that we have a bit more information on an infant’s sleep and their caloric needs, the expectations we put on them can be more realistic. Instead of thinking of it as a baby needing to be “taught” or “trained” to sleep, the focus can be put on the systems we can best support. Our method assumes that a baby cannot be taught to self soothe. In addition, their nervous systems and emotions are not yet developed, understood by them, or mastered, so they are not capable of manipulating their parents through crying (3). A baby does not have the ability to control or reset their own nervous system (4). This will not be a mastered skill until adulthood and even then, takes a life time to master. So their nervous system and cortisol levels need to be supported by using a steady touch and deep breathing from a parent, or care provider. Another way to reset a child’s nervous system is to take them outside. The stimulation from the environment with light and sounds help to reset a nervous system. A baby will begin understanding their emotions and be able to calm their own nervous system around the time they are three years old (4).

So instead of an extinction method, what we do is help guide a baby to sleep through the night by supporting their digestive system, which is their most developed system at this age. We focus on their metabolism and caloric intake, which results in healthy sleep habits to create a restful night for both parents and their baby. To do this we concentrate on helping babies get necessary calories during the day time hours. Shifting calories from the night time to the day time allows babies to get healthy sleep at night. We also pay attention to a baby’s circadian rhythms, which come into play between eight and 12 weeks.

Make positive associations

I believe it is very important to create positive associations with both sleep and food. Once negative associations have been formed, it can be increasingly more difficult to help a baby sleep through the night. For example, withholding food for certain duration of time, especially if the baby is crying can create negative associations. If the baby is rewarded with food after crying, this makes the baby think they need to work hard for their food, thus creating a negative association. Instead of working with underdeveloped systems, such as behavioral training, we believe that we can support positive and healthy associations to sleep by using the digestive system and circadian rhythms. These healthy associations will promote longer stretches of sleep at night.

To protect their sensitive circadian rhythms, and create a positive sleep space, we encourage parents to create a calm sleep space including minimal light, or better yet, no light. It’s important to make sure that the entire bedtime routine is calming from start to finish, including keeping a positive and soothing tone while speaking. A baby learns the most by watching us, therefore the parent or caregiver should be “sleepy” while putting baby to bed. This can be physically shown by taking long deep breaths, keeping eyes closed, and speaking in a quiet and soothing tone, while leaving the lights off. (This should also be portrayed any time the baby wakes up throughout the night.) This can be difficult, as it’s natural to feel panic or stress when a baby is crying, however it is extremely important to remain calm. If the adult is stressed, the baby will also feel stressed. Cortisol allows us to reset our own nervous system, but babies aren’t able to do this yet and rely on adults to help calm their nervous system. In addition, the bedtime routine should always be consistent and punctual. A baby clearly cannot read the clock, parents and caregivers need to be the enforcer of this bedtime. Positive associations can also be created by nursing or feeding to sleep, which will keep a baby relaxed and encouraged into sleep.

Using the digestive system

After positive sleep associations have been made, we begin to work with a baby’s digestive system. It’s important to remember as you’re supporting babies through this process, that they are on a 24-hour schedule and all sleep and calories need to be calculated based on this time frame. Sleep will need to be allocated throughout day and night, which is why we typically reserve 8-10 hours for night time sleep and allot 2-4 hours a day for naps.

To start, we ask parents to work on one longer stretch at night without feeding, to give the digestive system a break. We tell parents to start with four hours at night and gradually extend this time period (using the soothing methods discussed below). As long as the baby is getting enough calories during the day, they should not need additional caloric intake at night. In our experience we have found that the reason they continue to wake is due to the habit of eating every two hours. Eventually, with gentle support, the baby will no longer wake during the night and will begin to sleep longer and longer stretches.

As parents work on the first transition at night time, it’s important to discuss that babies will need three to five days to allow their metabolism to adjust to the transfer of the calories from the night time to the day time (1). From there, they continue to transfer nighttime calories to the daytime, which will allow for longer and longer stretches of sleep. In order to ensure this is done safely, it’s important to make sure a baby is at an appropriate weight AND age. Between 8-12 weeks a baby’s circadian rhythms begin to come in to play, this is why we must wait until at least 8 weeks to start to provide sleep support. We believe that a baby who is eight pounds can sleep four hours and still maintain the proper weight gain necessary to develop at a healthy rate. A baby weighing 10 pounds can sleep six hours, 12 pounds can sleep eight hours and 15 pounds can sleep 10 hours. This of course will fluctuate with each child, but they are good general guidelines.

The transition

Below is my preferred method for this transfer:

Day One

Begin new day time feeding schedule, which will offer increased day feeds (feeds every two hours for breast feeding, and three to four ounce feeds for bottle feeding, with a total of 28 to 32 ounces). At this time, it is important to communicate with the baby about changes that are coming.

Day Two

Continue increased calories during the day. Also encourage four to six hours a day of floor time activity to make sure they are developing as much as possible. Continue to communicate about their night time changing.

Day Three

Continue days with the new schedule and add in the first night stretch. This will consist of a bedtime routine and putting the baby to sleep in the designated sleep space. With the first wake of the night the parent or caregiver will soothe the baby to sleep instead of feeding. The soothing will entail any form of support via holding, rocking, cuddling, etc. At this time, support the baby until they go back to sleep, no matter how long it takes. Make sure to encourage the parent stay patient and calm, this will help soothe the baby most effectively. This transition will continue through day seven. From your designated bed time through the first 4 hours of the night you will soothe not feed. Once your baby has surpassed 4 hours resume night feeds, which should occur every 2-3 hours in correlation to the triggers of the metabolism.

Often after getting a baby to the first four-hour stretch, the next transitions happen very smoothly and require very little effort for an even longer stretch. As the baby grows, and their weight permits, we increase the total amount of time they can go without night feeds. As long as the total calories they need (which is 500-650 for a baby between four to six months and 650-800 for a baby six to nine months) are being met during the daytime hours (1). They will be capable of sleeping well at night, and parents will get the much deserved rest they need.

We have found that the best way to approach night sleep is to first have realistic expectations for the baby and secondly allow the baby to lead the process. When a baby is ready they will show signs of readiness, and will typically start with a growth spurt of increased eating followed by an increase in sleep or spontaneously sleeping a long night. This first stretch will usually occur shortly after the circadian rhythms come in to play around 12 weeks.

This method, what we call Baby Created Sleep, is a fully nutritional and instinctual based sleep support for babies and parents. By paying attending to their caloric and developmental needs, babies get the support they need, parents can be comfortable with the tools they’re using to meet the needs of their babies, and everyone gets healthy sleep!

Bio

Rachelle’s passion for new mothers and babies set her career in motion as a night nanny in 2002. Through nursing courses, she discovered the undeniable, universal value of nutrition, and earned her BS in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, later becoming a Certified Sleep Development Specialist. Merging her passion for new mothers, babies and nannying with her love of clinical nutrition, Rachelle founded Maternal Instincts, LLC / Denver Night Nannies in 2009. After 13 years of providing sleep support to families, she published her book, Creating Sweet Dreams. She has also recently launched the Infant Sleep Institute.

Join our online support group to ask a baby expert anything on:

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Please be nice! That means commenting from a space of helpfulness and sisterhood and keeping a nonjudgmental love for fellow mamas. We rise by lifting others and together we can raise the kindest and healthiest kids by sharing what we know. As facilitator, I will be sharing my knowledge with you and personally responding to your questions. We also have co-facilitators who are experts in the same areas and expanded by their own specialties. Every question is valid, so please feel safe sharing about yourself and with other mamas.

Email me to get on our waiting list for when the time is right. And, if you’re ready now, get in touch to find out how to get a full night of sleep as soon as possible. The difference is night and day!

Using my background as a dietitian, once I started working with my daughter’s metabolism instead of her behavior, sleeping through the night was the new normal. The effects were almost immediate. Once I realized this was truly the only way to allow babies to create their own sleeping patterns, I started applying the method to each stage of growth, including addressing regressions and growth spurts.

Saturday, July 29th at 7PM

Book Launch | Industry Networking | Social

Author Rachelle Gerhskovich is celebrating the launch of Creating Sweet Dreams, her accessible and essential new parent guidebook on all things sleep, nutrition and baby development.

The book is profound in its unique take. Rachelle recommends not using rigid schedules (and rather a loose and flexible routine), letting your baby speak to you, using tools like red lights to reduce light sensitivity and implementing strategies based on weight (not necessarily age every time). Creating Sweet Dreams is also groundbreaking and praised by parents who have successfully used Rachelle’s guidance.

Come join us at the BookBar on Tennyson Streetfor a social gathering to celebrate Rachelle and her first book launch. We would also love to gather with industry professionals in the birth and family field to grow our network and support each other’s projects and goals.

Plus, if you haven’t been to the BookBar yet…. well, you gotta come by on Saturday, July 29th at 7pm!

Event Location!

Tennyson Street is awesome and if you haven’t had a chance to check it out before, why not include the Book Launch in your bar hop/night out plans? Come out early or stay out late and check out these fun things to do while walking up and down this adorable urban enclave.

Tennyson Street, Denver CO – Photo Credit: Denver Eater

Things to Do on Tennyson Street:

Inspyre Boutique– This shop is so awesome. Trendy and affordable women’s clothing.

Who Should Come to the Book Launch Event?

Authors, join us! Doulas, get on in here! Birth Center professionals, this is for you. Yoga instructors, wellness industry pro’s, acupuncturists, pediatric chiropractors… Anyone who just likes wine, snackers, meat and cheese plate lovers, book lovers and urban explorers… join us! This is also a networking event and wine social (and a great reason to celebrate together!).

Anyone is welcome, but this event will be most fun for families with newborns that like to sleep in the eve and don’t mind loud talking or older kids who like to read and eat cookies (yes!). They have an adorable kids section for both younger (age 5+) and older (age 8+).

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, July 29th at 7pm at the Book Bar for the Creating Sweet Dreams Book Launch & Social. Thank you so much for your support!

Please RSVP so we can get an idea of a headcount for this event. See you soon!!

Praise for Creating Sweet Dreams by Rachelle Gershkovich:

“Okay, so I normally don’t write reviews, but I had to after reading this book. I was able to get through the content quickly (and to be honest, I sometimes have a hard time focusing when reading), so basically the content was well laid out for me where I could understand it. Along with the graphics and charts, it made me truly understand how feeding schedules based on the weight of your baby can make a huge impact of whether you get sleep or not.

Sleep is important for me because I work every day. I need to be able to be clear and focused as well as creative. Without sleep, it just doesn’t work! Also, I loved how the author talks about nervous system resets. If you don’t know what that is, definitely read the book. I could really understand how that could help soothe before naps and bedtimes. I am grateful to have this knowledge. I would recommend keeping this as a reference as your child grows as you’ll probably refer back to it time and again as your routine changes. Super helpful book!” – Well Rested Mom

Prepare the ingredients: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Wash and dry the fresh produce. Medium dice the potatoes. Remove and discard the kale stems; roughly chop the leaves. Peel and mince the garlic. Quarter and deseed the lemon.

Roast the potatoes: Place the potatoes on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, toss to thoroughly coat. Arrange in a single, even layer. Roast, stirring halfway through, 24-26 minutes, or until lightly browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish. Set aside in a warm place.

Cook and drain the kale: While the potatoes roast, in a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the kale (working in batches if necessary) and ½ cup of water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently 2 to 4 minutes, or until the kale has wilted and the liquid has cooked off. Transfer to a strainer; hold or rest the strainer over a bowl. Using a spoon, press down on the cooked kale to release as much liquid as possible; discard the liquid. Transfer the drained kale to a cutting board and finely chop. Wipe out the pan.

Cook the steaks: While the potatoes continue to roast, pat the steaks dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper on both sides. In the pan used to cook the kale, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the seasoned steaks and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until browned and cooked to your desired degree and doneness. Transfer to a cutting board, leaving any browned bits (or fond) in the pan, and let rest for at least 5 minutes.

Finish the kale: While the steaks rest, heat the pan of reserved fond on medium until hot. (If the pan seems dry, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.) Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the chopped kale, butter and ¼ cup of water; season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently, 3 to 4 minutes, or until thoroughly combined and heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese; season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving dish and set aside in a warm place.

Slice the steaks and serve your dish: Find the lines of muscle (or grain) of the rested steaks; thinly slice crosswise against the grain. Transfer the sliced steaks to a serving dish. Stir any juices from the cutting board into the serving dish of finished kale. Serve with the roasted potatoes and lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!

Prepare the ingredients: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Wash and dry the fresh produce. Cut the sweet potatoes into ½-inch-thick sticks. Peel and small dice the onion. Halve the buns. Pick the cilantro leaves off the stems; discard the stems. Quarter the lime. Pit, peel and thinly slice the avocado; top with the juice of 2 lime wedges to prevent browning, In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and the juice of the remaining lime wedges; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast the sweet potatoes: Place the sweet potatoes on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and ½ the spice blend; toss to thoroughly coat. Arrange in a single, even layer and roast 18 to 20 minutes, or until browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and set aside in a warm place.

Cook the onion and form the burgers: While the sweet potatoes roast, in a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the onion and remaining spice blend; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 4 minutes, or until softened. Transfer to a large bowl and add the ground turkey and breadcrumbs; season with salt and pepper. Gently mix to combine. Using your hands, form the mixture into four ½-inch-thick burgers. Wipe out the pan.

Cook the burgers: While the sweet potatoes continue to roast, in the pan used to cook the onion, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the burgers and cook 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate, leaving any browned bits (or fond) in the pan, and set aside in a warm place.

Toast the buns: Heat the pan of reserved fond on medium until hot. (If the pan seems dry, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.) Working in batches, add the buns, cut sides down. Toast 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate.

Assemble the burgers and serve your dish: Spread a thin layer of the lime mayonnaise onto the cut sides of the toasted buns. Top the bun bottoms with the cooked burgers, avocado and as much of the cilantro as you’d like. Complete the burgers with the bun tops. Divide between 4 plates. Serve with the roasted sweet potatoes on the sid

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is past 12 you will resume feedings as scheduled (12a, 2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day time schedule

Night 2

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and this results in feeding, you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is past 12 you will resume feedings as scheduled (12a, 2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 3

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and result in feeding you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is past 12 you will resume feedings as scheduled (12a, 2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 4

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Soothe as needed

Once it is past 12 you will resume feedings as scheduled (12a, 2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 5

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Soothe as needed

Once it is past 12 you will resume feedings as scheduled (12a, 2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

The next transition will happen based on weight gain, but to maintain this progress you must stick with your day time schedule and forms of soothing at night as needed.

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is past 12 you will resume feedings as scheduled (12a, 2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 2

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and this results in feeding your baby, you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is past 2 am you will resume feedings as scheduled (2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 3

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and this results in feeding you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is past 2 am you will resume feedings as scheduled (2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 4

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Soothe as needed

Once it is past 2 am you will resume feedings as scheduled (2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 5

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Soothe as needed

Once it is past 2am you will resume feedings as scheduled (2 am, 4 am)

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

The next transition will happen based on weight gain, but to maintain this progress you must stick with your day time schedule and forms of soothing at night as needed.

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 2

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and this results in feeding you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 3

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Bring milk in case you need it, but the plan is to not use it until the designated feeding time. Try an assortment of soothing techniques to get the baby to go back to sleep without the feed.

Nights 2 and three are typically the most difficult nights and require extensive soothing.

The most important thing to remember with pushing a feed and soothing is that you get your baby back to sleep without food. If you soothe for 25 minutes and get tired and this results in feeding you will create a very negative association to food and crying for your baby.

If breastfeeding, you will not need to bring milk but need to make your breast inaccessible.

Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 4

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Soothe as needed

Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

Night 5

Assess the daytime for calories and total number of hours of daytime naps

Soothe as needed

Once it is 4 am you will offer a full feed. This must be offered with a bottle so that you can measure the amount your little one is consuming at this feed and ensure it is a full feed. You can’t go past 4 am because it will affect your day time schedule. This may result in you waking your baby to feed.

Once its morning (6am) leave your nursery and start your day schedule

The next transition will happen based on weight gain, but to maintain this progress you must stick with your day time schedule and forms of soothing at night as needed.

Parents, this is so helpful!

Expert Baby Sleep Support

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Disclaimer & Copyright

All information provided on this website is the exclusive right of Rachelle Gershkovich and may not be reprinted or resold without express written permission. Any advice given is not to be substituted for a pediatrician or physician’s medical advice. Rachelle Gershkovich does not assume any liability from at-home application of any tips, practices or guidance. Families should be sure their baby is not sick or getting vaccinated during the programs or within six weeks at least of utilizing the program. Please ensure that you are following all steps of the program for maximum effectiveness. My programs are safe and gentle… we just have to say this stuff!